Next Monday we leave for our NYC to Canada cruise! We are excited. Anyone cruised with their LO? Any tips would be appreciated! I've been reading up on CruiseCritic, too.
I haven't cruised with a baby but my biggest piece of advice is wash your hands like a mad woman. Hand sanitizer is your friend. I got the norovirius [nasty stomach flu] on my two week honeymoon cruise and spent the second week quarantined in my tiny windowless cabin puking my brains out. The norovirus is a plague on cruise ships. I would also avoid the open air cafeteria... you never know what was touched by someone's unwashed hands.
Yes, hand sanitizer is a good idea, although it will also be everywhere you look on the ship.
Take a little inflatable swimming pool along if LO wants to play in the water and the cruise liner has rules about non-potty trained babies in the pool. Resign yourself to the possibility that you will not be able to do a bunch of fun activities on the ship because they conflict with LO's schedule, or LO's being fussy, etc. H and I had to take turns taking in the late night shows because they were past LO's bedtime. Also had to take turns eating as she would fuss through the meal (she was teething at the time) so someone had to hold her. We had wonderful servers who would offer to carry her around the restaurant and show her off while we ate. Hopefully you won't have to deal with that
In any case, you'll have a blast with all the oohs and aahs he is sure to attract given the typical cruise demographic. He'll feel like a star! Have fun!
Re: Cruising Soon!
I haven't cruised with a baby but my biggest piece of advice is wash your hands like a mad woman. Hand sanitizer is your friend. I got the norovirius [nasty stomach flu] on my two week honeymoon cruise and spent the second week quarantined in my tiny windowless cabin puking my brains out. The norovirus is a plague on cruise ships. I would also avoid the open air cafeteria... you never know what was touched by someone's unwashed hands.
Yes, hand sanitizer is a good idea, although it will also be everywhere you look on the ship.
Take a little inflatable swimming pool along if LO wants to play in the water and the cruise liner has rules about non-potty trained babies in the pool. Resign yourself to the possibility that you will not be able to do a bunch of fun activities on the ship because they conflict with LO's schedule, or LO's being fussy, etc. H and I had to take turns taking in the late night shows because they were past LO's bedtime. Also had to take turns eating as she would fuss through the meal (she was teething at the time) so someone had to hold her. We had wonderful servers who would offer to carry her around the restaurant and show her off while we ate. Hopefully you won't have to deal with that
In any case, you'll have a blast with all the oohs and aahs he is sure to attract given the typical cruise demographic. He'll feel like a star! Have fun!